Fundraising narrative, pitch development, objection handling, materials management, closing tactics
Capital strategy, operating model, metric identification, milestone development
Ideal customer profile, sales playbook development, business model testing, sales org development, incentive programs, competitive strategy
Customer journey mapping, customer success development, organizational planning, resource forecasting, goal setting rituals
Product vision vs. strategy vs. management, team development, product & eng collaboration
Brand development, product marketing, demand gen & growth strategies, sales enablement
Resource planning, hiring plan, selection practices, vision/mission and core value creation, compensation philosophy, communication architecture
Founded in 2015, Enjoy The Work is a San Francisco-based startup advisory firm serving startup founders and CEOs worldwide.
A short story would be best to describe why ETW has been game-changing for us. During the pandemic, our company was not doing well. We were running out of money, our team morale was low, we didn't have a good product-market fit, and we had terrible imposter syndrome as founders.
I made a phone call to Devan, our partner at ETW. I had just had a terrible call with our team where we didn't seem to have a clear path forward with the current product.
We wanted to pivot, and Devan replied, "ETW believes in you and will back you up no matter the outcome." He then went on to help us pivot, launch measurable OKRs for the company, and make four essential customer introductions that helped us successfully launch involve.ai. When we were ideating our messaging, we also interfaced with Jonathan, who further increased our confidence in our decision and ourselves. We owe all our success to Devan and ETW's partnership. They have taught us how to become good leaders and scale our company.
About the engagement
Sarah and Thornton were our first married co-founders. We met them shortly after their graduation from NFX’s (former) accelerator and they had raised a seed round from UnCork Capital. They had an initial product and a small, mostly technical team. Over the subsequent 4 years, we launched, pivoted, executed a layoff, re-launched, grew, raised capital, hired talent, built partnerships, and successfully exited. And equally importantly, Sarah and Thornton welcomed their 2nd child to their family right in the middle of it all.
We joined the Enjoy The Work family over 4 years ago. We had just raised our seed round and barely had a product in market. They helped us climb back from the brink so many times I can’t count. It felt like Jonathan and our other Enjoy The Work advisors were team members and were in it with us every step of the way. I can confidently say that there is no chance we could have successfully grown and exited our company without them.
It's not news that being a startup founder/CEO is a lonely, stressful job. But I don't think I let myself acknowledge how truly on-an-island I had been until I started working with Jonathan and the Enjoy The Work team.
With a group of people in your corner who are incomparably expert across all the critical startup disciplines, you see anything is possible - but more importantly, you realize that you don't need to figure everything (or anything!) out on your own. Over the four years I worked with ETW, they guided me through go-to-market strategy, helped with financial modeling and fundraising, lead a culture/core values exercise with my team, provide critical product feedback, interviewed senior candidates for key roles, helped me structure my board and finally deftly guided me through our exit via acquisition.
Beyond the technical acumen, every member of the ETW team showed up for me with generosity, patience, and candor consistently across hundreds of sessions. My calls with ETW were not only the most valuable hours of my week, but they were also the ones I looked forward to most.
Let me start with - startups are crazy. One minute you’re flying and the next you’re questioning why you ever started the company. We went through so much - we launched a product, raised money, pivoted, hired people, fired people, and then after coming close to giving up so many times, finally found a way to grow, and eventually to exit.
It was a wild and at times painful journey and I will be forever thankful for the team at Enjoy The Work for not only guiding us to great outcome, but helping us laugh along the way. In an industry filled with armchair experts, Enjoy The Work is the real deal. Worth every penny.
About the engagement
We began working with Justin and his team just as they were going out to market for their Series A. Justin took to our process beautifully – we crafted a compelling narrative, built a financial model, prepped diligence materials, and rehearsed both pitches and Q&A. The result was an oversubscribed raise led by a great fund (Greycroft). That served as a jump point for work on the company’s financial planning, sales motion, customer success approach, and internal communications.
One part of me is thrilled to share how the team at Enjoy The Work has impacted our business - they have helped us in so many ways from sales, to fundraising, to customer success, to culture development, to board management, and more. The other part of me wants to not share a word of this because I kind of want them all to myself :)
What sets Enjoy The Work apart? Is it their operating and fundraising expertise? Is it that they are a group of extraordinary people who truly love to see nothing more than founders succeed? Or is it that they cared for my whole self, and not just my next set of milestones?
The partners at ETW were my guide to help me see around the corner as my last two businesses matured. They were my mentors and my friends. I would not have had my two great exits without their help and look forward to working with them again one day in the future.